


sea salt and grime (can’t believe that you’re mine)

by someoneyouloved



Series: jiara july 2020 [2]
Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Activity Day, F/M, Fluff, Jiara July, Light Angst, and a little angst because it’s from jj’s POV and that’s a requirement, anyways hope y’all enjoy, basically jj and kiara fix up an old dirt bike together and fluff/chaos ensues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25546081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someoneyouloved/pseuds/someoneyouloved
Summary: “I could help.”At first, he thinks she’s joking. But then JJ turns around, looks Kiara up and down, and realizes she’s entirely serious.“I mean, you don’t have to,” he says, trying to think of an excuse that won’t sound like he’s trying to get rid of her. Because he’s not, it’s just... complicated. “It’s not a big deal, really. I can just ask John B or something. Or Pope— he’s probably read an instruction manual or some shit.”Kiara raises her eyebrows. “And what if I want to?”—or jj and kiara fix up a bike together, and jj realizes they may have more in common than he thought.
Relationships: JJ & Kiara (Outer Banks), JJ/Kiara (Outer Banks)
Series: jiara july 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849102
Comments: 9
Kudos: 107
Collections: Jiara July Jubilee





	sea salt and grime (can’t believe that you’re mine)

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to my second fic for jiara july! tbh this is just five thousand words of pure jiara fluff, with a little angst sprinkled in for good measure of course, but i’ve always liked the idea that jj and kiara bonded over their love for mechanics and then, well, this happened. hope y’all enjoy, and don’t forget to leave comments/kudos if you do :)
> 
> also i did research for this but i literally know NOTHING about mechanics or motorcycles so forgive me for any mistakes i made
> 
> this fic was beta read by the lovely @alphinia who’s comments literally made my day. thank you girl :)

When JJ first meets Kiara, he thinks they have nothing in common.

It’s John B who brings her into the group, which makes sense, because they’re both the kind of people whose hearts seem to be too big for their bodies. Pope and her bond over discussions about climate change and renewable energy, take all the same honors classes at school, so that’s that.

And it’s not like Kiara and him don’t get along, it’s just... different.

Maybe it’s because Kiara’s technically a Kook, and JJ has spent his entire life either avoiding them or getting beaten up by them, so anything else feels wrong. 

But to be fair, Kiara is only a Kook by name and money, which JJ quickly learns after she starts fishing for crabs and riding around on the HMS with him and the Pogues. She’s always quick to defend them too, doesn’t take shit from Rafe or Topper, knees Kelce in the balls after he punches JJ at the Boneyard one night. So, it’s not like he has a reason to question her loyalty.

Still, JJ has always felt like Kiara belongs to John B in some way, as if she’s off limits.

Not like John B _owns_ her or anything, because he’s learned from Kiara herself that people, especially girls, can’t belong to anybody. It’s just... she’s John B’s friend first, and that’s fine.

Honestly, he knows it’s more him than her. Kiara tries, harder than she should in his opinion, to make JJ like her. He doesn’t understand why— she’s one of John B’s people, so that means JJ has to spend time with her by association.

It never occurs to him that Kiara may want more than that, that she might actually _want_ to be his friend. 

The first hint he gets that this might be the case is the summer before high school, when he steals an old dirt bike from the salvage yard and brings it back to the Chateau.

He’s not sure why he does it— only that Bobby tends to look the other way when JJ swipes stuff, and the bike would have just been sitting there anyway. It’s not like he would ever have the money to buy one for himself, because despite working three jobs, all of JJ’s wages go toward paying the bills and his dad’s gambling debts, plus making sure he doesn’t starve to death.

John B’s at work, so he figures he has enough time to sneak the bike into the shed in the back without anyone noticing, but he’s still wheeling it across the yard when Kiara arrives.

It’s stupid, but JJ doesn’t want her to see it, because despite her status as a Pogue, the truth is Kiara could probably buy a brand new bike without her parents noticing. Well, maybe not a _dirt_ bike, because her mother wouldn’t be about that, but that’s not the point. She doesn’t need to scavenge for anything, it’s just handed to her, and that used to piss JJ off but he honestly doesn’t care all that much anymore. Kiara’s a Pogue, even if her bank account says otherwise. 

Still, when she spots the bike, JJ assumes she’s going to yell at him for stealing it or warn him about the dangers of riding a motorcycle, but Kiara just waves and moves towards him with a smile on her face. 

“Where’d you get this?” She asks, running her hands over the rusted fuel tank, and it takes JJ a second to respond.

”Salvage yard,” he tells her, spitting out the words quickly, his cheeks suddenly hot at the admission. “I know it looks like shit, I just thought I could, uh, I don’t know—”

“Fix it up?” Kiara offers, biting her lip as her gaze catches his, looking a little flustered herself for some reason. “That’s cool— you do stuff like this often?”

JJ almost makes a comment about how he doesn’t have a _choice_ , but then he remembers that he’s not supposed to intentionally piss Kiara off about shit like that anymore. John B and him had a talk— it was a whole thing. 

“Uh, yeah,” he mutters instead, looking away from her to study the bike himself. “I mean... never with a bike before, but I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out. Might be cool, you know, if I can get around without having to ask John B for the keys to the van.”

The last part feels a little too personal to share, and JJ regrets saying it almost immediately, but Kiara just nods. She looks like she wants to say something more too, but if she offers to buy JJ a new bike he might just lose his shit completely, so he turns back towards the shed before Kiara can start talking. 

It’s a few long seconds before she calls after him.

“I could help.”

At first, he thinks she’s joking. But then JJ turns around, looks Kiara up and down, and realizes she’s entirely serious.

“I mean, you don’t have to,” he says, trying to think of an excuse that won’t sound like he’s trying to get rid of her. Because he’s not, it’s just... complicated. “It’s not a big deal, really. I can just ask John B or something. Or Pope— he’s probably read an instruction manual or some shit.”

Kiara raises her eyebrows. “And what if I want to?”

“Do you even know a thing about mechanics?” JJ asks before thinking it through, and then he instantly regrets saying anything at all when Kiara’s eyes narrow into a glare. 

“Are you implying that girls can’t do that kind of shit? I thought we already had the _Kiara can do whatever the hell she wants_ talk.”

“Er, we did, yeah,” JJ mumbles, desperately trying to think of a way to get out of this conversation. “I just... it’s complicated, you know? You’d probably find it boring.”

“Just wondering, have _you_ ever fixed up a bike before? Is that a rite of passage in the land of toxic masculinity?”

Okay, JJ would never admit it, but Kiara’s kind of (read: _really_ ) scary when she’s angry. She’s giving him this look, the one that always makes him want to be ridiculously honest with her, and he almost tells her that the first time he picked up a wrench and offered to help his dad fix up a motorcycle in the garage, he’d struck JJ across the face so hard that he’d had a bruise for weeks. 

But he doesn’t say that, because Kiara would probably do some crazy shit like call DCS on his ass, and they definitely don’t need that.

So, he settles for a solid, “No, I haven’t. I was just gonna do some research on YouTube.” 

Kiara sighs, rolls her eyes in a way that used to mean she was annoyed but is now almost fond. “Well, I’ve helped my uncle fix up a few of his boats, the process probably isn’t that different from a dirt bike. I might be able to help.”

Most of the time, Kiara is so confident that JJ forgets she can still get scared or embarrassed, but she seems a little bit of both as she makes the offer.

In that moment, JJ realizes it’s because she assumes he’s going to say no. 

And it’s probably a stupid idea, but he opens his mouth before he can change his mind. “No, yeah, that’d be cool. If you’re into it, that is. No pressure—”

But he breaks off mid-sentence, because Kiara’s beaming as she gives JJ’s shoulder a light shove and says, “Of course, you idiot. Should be fun, right?”

“Yeah,” JJ repeats under his breath, still trying to convince himself that this isn’t a horrible idea. “Fun.”

•••

If JJ’s being honest, the first time he invites Kiara over to work on the bike, he doesn’t expect her to show up. He shoots her a text, has to start a new chat with just them to do it. 

The thing is, he wouldn’t even hold it against her if she ditched, because she definitely has better things to be doing than hanging out with him. 

But then Kiara’s car pulls into the driveway at the Chateau (because there’s no way in hell JJ’s letting her anywhere near his dad), and she doesn’t even go inside to say hello to John B before heading out to the shed.

“Sorry I’m late,” she says with a guilty smile, even though it’s only been fifteen minutes since they were supposed to meet. “But I brought food.”

Those words are all JJ needs to hear, and then he’s digging into the burger and fries she’d brought from the Wreck, wipes his mouth with the napkin Kiara hands him and offers her a somewhat sheepish grin when he catches her eyeing the now-empty takeout box.

“Hungry?” Kiara says, as if she has to ask. They both know the only food at the Chateau is week-old pizza and moldy bread.

Well, maybe not anymore. Since Kiara’s become a constant in their lives, there’s usually a box of cereal in the cupboard or tea boiling on the stove or those organic yogurts in the fridge that she eats when she’s hungover. But a warm meal is rare where JJ is concerned, so he always appreciates the food Kiara manages to sneak past her parents.

“So, should we get started?” She asks, nodding towards the bike leaning against the wooden post by the shed, pulling JJ from his thoughts.

“Oh, yeah,” he mutters, shaking his head a little, still trying to understand the dynamic when it’s just her and him. If he’s being honest, it feels way more normal than he’d expected it to. “I already looked it over— honestly, the bones are in pretty good shape, it just needs a few new parts and some paint.”

Kiara nods, moves to study the bike herself, hands skating over the handlebars. “You check the battery?”

“Uh... no.”

Kiara just bites her lip and pointedly looks away from him, as if she’s trying to keep herself from laughing. It’s a good thing, too, because JJ’s pretty sure his cheeks are red.

It ends up taking the majority of the afternoon— Kiara judges the battery to be dead but still in working order, guides JJ through the steps of charging it as she studies an old motorbike handbook she got from her uncle.

It turns out it can take over ten hours for the battery to charge, so they decide to start a game of darts while they wait. It’s dark outside by the time Pope arrives and John B yells at them to come in for dinner (pizza and beer, as per usual), which is good timing because Kiara is totally kicking JJ’s ass.

It’s not until later, when they’re lying on the pullout couch, eyes and limbs heavy from exhaustion and alcohol, that Kiara turns to him and says, “Today was fun. You and me, I mean.”

It takes JJ a second to understand what she’s saying, because Kiara’s face is only inches away from his and her eyes are kind of sparkling in the low lights of the Chateau and if she was any other girl, JJ knows he would be kissing her by now. 

But then he remembers that this is _Kiara_ , not some random Touron, and macking on her is definitely a perfect way to screw this up. 

Because they _had_ had fun today— real fun, not with Pope or John B or aided by alcohol, more fun than JJ has ever had with any of the girls he brings back to the Chateau. 

He feels a little silly admitting it, but Kiara still has that look in her eyes, like she’s waiting for him to kick her to the curb. And JJ’s not sure why, but he doesn’t like it.  
  
“Yeah, it was,” he agrees, offering her a small smile. “I never thought I’d say this, but you’re not a horrible person to be around.“

Kiara rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t seem offended. “Thanks, JJ. Is that your version of a compliment?”

He shrugs, takes another swig of beer. “I mean, I’d tell you how hot you were, but you’d probably hit me for objectifying you.”

Kiara does hit him— but it’s soft, and her fingers linger on his arm afterward, and JJ may or may not be getting goosebumps where she touches him. He decides to blame it on the alcohol. 

“No, seriously,” he says, catching her wrist as she moves to grab another slice of pizza, telling himself it’s not just an excuse to keep her close. “A girl who knows her way around a bike... definitely my type.”

JJ doesn’t even mean it in a flirtatious way. Okay, he _does_ , but it’s more because he wants to see Kiara’s raised eyebrows and heat-filled glare, not because he’s trying to convince her to sleep with him. And maybe that should be his first warning sign, because every other girl JJ has been with on this pullout couch was there for exactly one purpose.

But Kiara’s different— because she’s one of them, and JJ likes her more than he cares to admit, a little bit because of how she looks in a bikini and how his skin tingles when she touches him, but also because she knows how to jump a motorbike battery and pulls crabs from the nets with her bare hands.

Kiara just rolls her eyes when he says it, like she always does, but she ruffles JJ’s hair with a hand and does a terrible job of keeping her smile to herself. “In your dreams, Maybank.”

•••

After that, Kiara and him spending time together without the others becomes a regular thing. 

It is a little weird, he thinks, because it’s not like they’ve ever _hung out_ before this. In the group, yes, but never alone. Possibly because JJ assumed that if he got to know Kiara like that, he’d like her even more than he already did, which felt kind of dangerous.

It could also be that JJ isn’t used to people _wanting_ to be around him. 

John B’s a given, because they’ve always been stuck together, since the day he offered to give JJ a ride home when he was sitting on the curb alone after school. He’s probably the only person in JJ’s life who he doesn’t worry about abandoning him— it’s been John B and him for years, and that’s never going to change. 

And with Pope, JJ is constantly caught between the fact that he doesn’t want to fuck up the life of the one person who actually has a chance of getting out of the Cut and the desire to just... rough him up a little. It’s his thing— he doesn’t like when things are too clean, because it only makes it more obvious that he’s not. 

But Kiara’s different, because she wasn’t forced to spend time with JJ, she _chose_ to, and he’s not quite sure what to do with that. 

The bike quickly becomes their baby, something JJ finds himself not mentioning to the other Pogues. It’s not even a conscious decision, but deep down he knows it’s because he doesn’t want to share his time with Kiara with anyone else.

They start working on it whenever they have free time: in the evenings after a night of drinking and fishing with the Pogues, during the rare afternoons where their breaks line up or JJ isn’t working. 

The whole carb system ends up needing to be rebuilt, which they learn after a bunch of old fuel sprays JJ in the face. Kiara laughs herself hoarse, snaps a picture of him with black gunk all over his shirt, but shuts up real quick when he threatens to throw her into the marsh in retaliation.

JJ dismantles the whole system, steals some carb cleaner from the garage while his dad is out playing poker with his drinking buddies, polishes the jets and gaskets while Kiara cleans the gas tank and scrapes off all the rust and replaces the nuts and bolts.

She’s certainly not afraid to get her hands dirty, and JJ was being totally honest when he told her that it was hot.

Because he’s seen Kiara in a bikini, asleep on the pullout in nothing but her underwear and an oversized t-shirt of John B’s, but nothing can beat when she’s wearing shorts and a grease-stained tank top, her hair pulled up into a messy bun and her cheeks shining with sweat.

And maybe JJ likes the fact that he’s the only one who gets to see her like that, not John B or Pope, that they have this thing that’s just _theirs_.

It’s going better than he expected— him and Kiara. The more time that they spend together, the more he realizes that he didn’t really know her, not at all. She starts to share bits and pieces of herself with him, from her favorite kind of ice cream to how she’s always felt like an outsider with the Kooks, with her own family. 

And it’s not intentional, but JJ starts to tell her things too, ones he doesn’t share with anyone else. Like how he was so mean to Kiara at first because he thought she was going to steal John B from him, how he wants to enter surfing competitions but doesn’t have the money, how his mother left when he was seven years old and he hasn’t heard from her since. 

Kiara’s a good listener, doesn’t offer idiotic, oversimplified solutions like John B or get all technical like Pope. 

One day, JJ’s struggling to read the back of an oil canister, sounding out the words in his head, when she looks over at him and asks, “JJ, are you dyslexic?”

He frowns at her, brushes his hair out of his face with a hand. “Am I _what_? What’s that, some new insult you learned from Pope?”

Kiara seems throughly embarrassed, her cheeks turning red as she ducks her head, and JJ’s not really sure why. The teasing remark isn’t anything new, in fact he’d amped up his game when he’d realized Kiara could definitely hold her own against him when it came to verbal sparring. 

“No, it’s... it’s just someone who has a hard time reading sometimes. Like the words are blurry, or backwards. My cousin had it, and my aunt paid for all these expensive tutors to try and get rid of it. But that’s not the point. And it’s not a bad thing, I was just wondering, because sometimes you stare at signs for a little too long or ask Pope to read labels for you and—”

JJ’s cheeks feel hot all of a sudden, because he didn’t know Kiara was actually paying attention to stuff like that, but she seems to mistake it for him being upset about what she said. 

“Oh, no, JJ, don’t be embarrassed,” she rushes to say, her voice shaking a little as she takes a step towards him. “It’s not a bad thing, I swear—”

“It’s cool, Kie,” he reassures her, the nickname slipping out almost automatically. “Don’t worry about I— I just didn’t know there was a name for it.”

It’s nice, to know it’s semi-normal and not a side effect of all the concussions his dad gave him as a kid. And Kiara seems to understand that that’s where the conversation ends, because she doesn’t push him on it.

But she’s still Kiara, so she texts him a link to a site with all these articles and tips for kids who are dyslexic, starts reading instructions and labels with smaller text out loud without him having to ask.

The bike’s a larger project than JJ had assumed it would be, one that involves replacing spark plugs and changing lightbulbs, polishing parts and scraping off rust until his fingers bleed.

They have their first real fight after Kiara offers to pay for the new bike chain and sprockets. It’s an offhand comment, made while they’re lounging in the hammock one day after a few hours of work, and that almost makes it worse.

Because it’s just another reminder that she’s from an entirely different world, where spending two hundred dollars on a brand new bike part isn’t a big deal.

And JJ knows that she means well, but it’s hard to keep his temper in check, and he’s out of the hammock and storming away before he can stop himself.

“JJ?” Kiara asks, obviously not realizing what she did to piss him off. “What’s wrong? Are you okay—”

“I’m fine,” JJ hisses over his shoulder, still not looking at her. “I’m sorry the salvage parts aren’t good enough for you.”

Kiara frowns, tilts her head to the side, like she’s trying to understand. “JJ, that’s not—”

“I don’t need your help,” he snaps, cringing inwardly as Kiara’s smile vanishes and she curls in on herself. “And I don’t need your money, so fuck off Kie.”

It’s harsher than he’s been with her in a while, but he lets the nickname slip by accident, and Kiara seems to know that it means he’s not pissed at _her_. Not really, anyway.

“Oh,” she murmurs, her voice ridiculously soft compared to his. “I’m sorry, JJ. I didn’t realize how that would sound. I didn’t mean to make you feel— whatever, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just... I’ll just go. Let you cool off.”

She’s gotten a little too good at reading his moods, and JJ’s not quite sure how he feels about that.

But it works anyway, because as Kiara turns to leave he calls after her. “Wait, Kie—”

“I’m the one who should apologize,” JJ tells her, tugging his hat from his head and running his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t mean that, I just... I just need to do this my way, if that’s okay.”

“Of course,” Kiara says, her smile sliding back into place almost immediately. “I really didn’t mean for it to come out like that, as if you couldn’t afford it yourself. I was just trying to—”

“Help,” JJ finishes, offering her a weak smile. “I know. I appreciate it. This... everything you’re doing, all of it.”

Kiara’s smile gets a little bigger at that, and she leans forward to steal the hat from JJ’s hands, laughs when he starts yelling at her to give it back as she throws herself into the hammock. 

It’s over just like that, and Kiara and JJ will still get into it whenever she slips and offers to pay for anything, but eventually she stops asking, volunteers to be lookout when he sneaks into the salvage yard for parts and only buys second-hand if they really do need something. 

And they still fight, because of _course_ they do, both of them filled with a little too much fire and pride not to. But it works, him and Kie, and JJ finds himself dreading the day when the bike’s finished and he won’t have an excuse to hang out with her anymore. 

•••

JJ doesn’t realize how well he’s gotten to know Kiara until John B points it out to him.

Again, it’s mostly little things that possess no real importance— the fact that she likes her coffee with three shots of expresso and a shit ton of creamer, how she hates mushrooms on her pizza and listens to Jack Johnson when it rains. 

But then the two of them are on the HMS one day, Pope working a shift for Heyward and Kiara attending some Kook event with her parents (which apparently she only told JJ about), when John B broaches the subject.

“So, you and Kiara are getting pretty close, aren’t you? Anything you wanna share?”

And it’s not hostile at all, but for some reason JJ immediately goes on the defensive. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

John B raises his hands in surrender at JJ’s sudden outburst of emotion. “Nothing. I was just curious. What’s up your ass?”

“Nothing,” JJ mumbles, returning his attention to the fishing rod in his hands and purposefully avoiding John B’s gaze. “We’re just working on the bike, that’s all.”

“Oh, please,” John B scoffs, shaking his head. “That’s a shit excuse. You do realize I didn’t even know where Kiara was today? But you did. Why do you think that is?”

JJ shrugs, as if he has no idea what John B is insinuating. And he _doesn’t_ — there’s nothing going on between him and Kiara, so why does he feel like he has something to hide all of a sudden? 

“We’re just hanging out, that’s all. There’s nothing to tell.”

“Aw, JJ, you made a friend!” John B mockingly squeals, ruffling JJ’s hair with a hand. “I’m so proud of you, seriously—”

JJ shoves at his chest, almost tips his friend off of the boat and tells him to _shut up_ , but John B is still smirking when he cuffs JJ on the side of the head and points out that he’s blushing.

And sure, JJ’s cheeks are suddenly burning and he feels oddly guilty, like he just lied to his best friend, which is ridiculous because there really isn’t anything going on between him and Kiara.

But John B’s word’s are still lingering in the back of his head, and JJ realizes that he’s right.

Like it or not, him and Kiara are friends now.

•••

JJ never would have admitted it, but he’d been slightly reluctant to finish the bike, because he knew it meant that he wouldn’t have a reason to spend one-on-one time with Kie anymore. 

But it turns out that he doesn’t have to worry, because Kiara seeks him out all by herself.

They’ll get lunch when their breaks line up, and soon it’s not uncommon for JJ to leave the hotel he works at and find Kiara waiting for him in the parking lot. Or he’ll stay after hours at the Wreck, eating the leftovers and chatting with Kie while she closes. 

They watch old reruns of Friends and Seinfeld on the pullout couch, her legs brushing his as they stuff their faces with pizza and popcorn and yell at Pope for spoiling everything because he’s too damn smart. JJ bans him from watching anything with them after he correctly predicts that Ross is going to say Rachel’s name at the altar, because seriously, who does that?

Kiara ropes him into making brownies one night when the others are asleep, and JJ sneaks some of his weed into the batter when she’s not looking. She acts annoyed at first, but then they’re giggling over the half-empty pan an hour later, and she doesn’t seem all that mad anymore.

They take a break from working on the bike while they wait for a few final parts to come in, and in the meantime JJ starts teaching Kiara how to surf. She knows the basics, so they work on specific techniques and a few tricks JJ has picked up over the years.

She catches on quickly, which is kind of a miracle considering how much they fight during lessons. It’s normally over something stupid— like how JJ pinched her skin when he helped her readjust her stance, or when she wipes out on purpose and practically gives him a heart attack.

Kie laughs about that one for almost three days, keeps re-enacting the expression of panic on JJ’s face when he had dived into the water and hauled her out. And he wants to be mad, but the word _adorable_ comes to mind as he watches Kiara tells the Pogue the story for like the tenth time, and then John B is mouthing the words _pussy-whipped_ at him behind Kiara’s back. 

The problem is that it’s only half-true. JJ can admit that he’s _slightly_ whipped, but what’s more concerning is that Kiara hasn’t slept with him, and he’s not even trying to get her to do so. I mean, it’s not like he’d say no if she offered (he _really_ wouldn’t), it’s just that sometimes he catches himself thinking about the giddy, smug smile on her face when she guesses what’s wrong with the bike before he does, or how her eyes sparkle in the sunlight after a long day of surfing.

So, yeah... he’s whipped, and he’s not exactly sorry about it. 

•••

JJ declares the bike finished one afternoon in mid-July, after him and Kiara have painted it two vibrant shades of blue and red. It’s honestly a miracle that the thing is covered at all, considering how much paint ends up on the two of them. To be fair, Kiara started it when she _accidentally_ spilled blue all over his favorite cut-offs, and JJ had no choice but to retaliate. 

That’s how they look when they take the bike for it’s first ride— covered in blue and red paint, JJ without a shirt, his skin patterned with Kie’s handprints. 

Kiara’s hesitant to get on at first, forces JJ to wear the helmet she bought (the one thing she wouldn’t budge on paying for, mostly because she knew JJ wouldn’t buy one on his own). 

He rolls his eyes and complies, but she still seems nervous, so he goads her into it by asking if she’s doubting their expert mechanic abilities. Kiara just laughs, shakes her head at JJ, a reaction he’s used to by now, but she does climb on in the end. 

And JJ won’t lie, he likes when Kie wraps her arms around his waist and rest her head on his shoulder, when she shrieks and laughs as they’re speeding down the road towards her house.

They pull up ten minutes later, around the street from Kie’s driveway so that her parents won’t murder her, when she untangles her arms from around JJ’s waist and tugs off her helmet.

And in that moment, JJ changes his mind about his favorite version of Kiara being the one with frizzy hair and oil on her face. This is better— her hair tousled and windswept, eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed. 

There’s an almost giddy smile on her face as she studies the bike and holds out a hand for JJ to shake. “Good job, partner.”

“Uh, thanks,” he says, clearing his throat. “I kind of can’t believe we actually did it. It was fun— I’m gonna miss the whole mechanic thing, if I’m being honest.”

He doesn’t say what he’s really thinking, which is that he’s going to miss her, but Kiara just smiles and shrugs her shoulders. “What if I told you that you didn’t have to?”

“What?”

“I _might_ have mentioned you to one of my dad’s old business partners who runs this mechanics shop by the Wreck,” she says, her expression apprehensive as she waits for JJ’s reaction. “I told him what we were doing, and he seemed to think it was cool, and he said that if you wanted a job he’d be happy to give you one.”

She bites her lip when JJ doesn’t respond right away, clearly worried that he’s going to be mad. “I know I should have asked you first, but it’s not a handout, I promise. And if you’re not interested, that’s totally fine, I just—”

JJ jumps off the bike before she can continue rambling, throws himself at Kiara and pulls her into a bone-crushing hug. And maybe it should be embarrassing, but he doesn’t care, not as she leans into his embrace and laughs against his chest.

“Thanks, Kie,” he whispers, speaking the words half into her hair. It’s starting to tickle his nose, but he’s not about to let go before she does. 

Then Kiara pulls back to press a kiss to JJ’s cheek, and he can’t even pretend that he’s not blushing. “No, JJ, thank you.”

“For what?” He asks, frowning at her, trying to figure out why she’d be thanking him. 

Kiara shrugs, looking almost as flustered as he feels. “For being my friend, I guess. For letting me in.”

JJ has no idea what to say to that, so he just smiles and nods, fighting to prevent the heat from rising to his cheeks, but Kiara seems to get the message.

“I guess you’re not a horrible person to be around, Maybank.”

JJ laughs as he takes a step back, fitting the helmet onto his head and mounting the bike— _his_ bike— and flips Kiara off over his shoulder before hitting the gas and driving away.

It’s not until he’s back at the Chateau, when John B is fawning over the bike and asking JJ a million and one questions, half of which Kiara would know the answer to, that the thought enters his head. 

He used to think that Kiara was John B’s, but now he feels like she’s his, and JJ finds that he likes that a lot more than he should. 


End file.
